ROSE Blog: Rikki's Open Source Exchange

If you can't make it to USENIX next week, you can still participate online. We will be broadcasting all talks of the "Invited Talks" track on USENIX '08 via live streaming from June 25 to June 27. It's the next-best thing to being there – the live-streaming browser interface provides the video, audio, and actual talk slides, in addition to a chat feature. All the details are available here: http://streaming.linux-magazin.de/en/program_usenix08.htm And if you are in Boston next week, be sure to stop by our magazine booth and pick up a sample copy or sign up for a trial subscription. More info about USENIX '08 is available on...

Our editor in chief, Joe Casad, and I once had a heated discussion about using he/she, he, she, or 'they' when we were referring to a singular gender-neutral person. I thought that if the article's author is male, we should use he, and if the article author is female, we'd use she. Joe thought that we should use they, even though it's technically plural, because they is now commonly accepted as gender-neutral and singular. Finally, we agreed that we'd use "they" until the English language miraculously resolves this gender issue, but I put my foot down on ending sentences with prepositions. I don't care how acceptable that has become, it still makes me cringe when I see it in...

Over at technewsworld.com, Katherine Noyes wrote a blog about a recent Newsweek article, "Revenge of the Nerdette." I considered mentioning the Newsweek article last week, but I didn't think it was particularly newsworthy – the concept of "Meet the Nerd Girls: they're smart, they're techie and they're hot" didn't say anything new or revolutionary to me. Basically, it rehashed the stereotype that a person can't be attractive and tech-savvy and intelligent and, *gasp*, a woman. Katherine's blog did a nice job of integrating comments and reactions to the original article, though, so I thought I'd pass it along.

The excitement continues – this week, it wasn't enough to send our August issue to the printer and acquire the Linux Magazine assets, we also get to welcome a new blogger. Jon 'maddog' Hall will be posting Paw Prints: Observations, News and Musings on Free Software a couple times a week, so be sure to check back.

I just ran across an article about a Japanese firm that claims to have created the "perfect" robot woman. The two men behind the project claim that the robot can do everything from cooking to massage. Of course, the skeptics say the technology for this robot isn't possible. Some folks are even saying that it's art, "a damning critique of women's roles in relationships." I, however, am hopeful. Just last night – after working all day, driving my kid around town, grocery shopping, making dinner, cleaning the kitchen, walking the dog, and rolling the trashcan to the curb – I sat on my couch thinking how great it would be to have another me around the house to help...

This year the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing Conference includes a hardware track. But wait, there's more: Two women will receive scholarships to attend the conference. According to the announcement, "In recognition of the introduction of the hardware track at this year’s conference, the VLSI Group at Sun Microsystems Laboratories is providing scholarships to enable two women students interested in hardware development to attend the conference. The scholarships will cover travel and registration for two women students in the field of computer hardware to attend GHC 2008. The scholarships will be awarded to applicants focusing on hardware development with preferred...